Pecorino Half-Pound Cake

Now, I know how you love the sweet things – I see the page-view numbers plummet every time I post about something savoury and can almost HEAR the snores – and me, I loooooooooove the savoury. So in this eternal battle of sweet vs savoury, I believe I have come up with the ultimate recipe to please everyone!

A bold statement!

And also a fib! Because I didn’t just conjure this VISION of deliciousness from thin air – I was actually trying out a recipe that’s been on my ‘To Do’ list for YONKS! The Metrovino Parmesan Pound Cake – which I had seen mentioned on the Cooking Channel, or the Food Channel or somewhere. Intrigued by the use of Parmesan in what appeared to be a sweet cake, I foolishly didn’t write anything down at the time bar the name of the recipe. Luckily, Susan Bradley over at Luna Cafe had already begged the chef for the recipe and published it on her blog – Huzzah!

However…… things did not go smoothly – for I was half-way through the recipe this morning when I realised I hadn’t got a couple of the ingredients – after already changing the main ingredient for the Pecorino Romano I had in the fridge. Actually, this was the second attempt at this cake today – I must admit I was only half paying attention when going through the recipe and was a bit on auto-pilot: “Yeah, yeah, yeah – cream the sugar and butter – do the eggs – mix the flour….” and it was only when I turned round from putting the tin in the oven that I saw the sour cream and cream cheese still sitting on the work top. I blame the clocks going back. Anyhoo – THAT version turned out very bizarre – very sweet, spongy texture which did not sit well at ALL with the cheese.

But my second ‘make do’ attempt was much better, even though I had to bodge it a bit, onna count of not having any sour cream or creme fraiche – so I sloshed some lemon juice into some double cream and away we went! I also halved the recipe (always to be recommended when trying a recipe for the first time), reduced the amount of sugar, and finished it off with some strawberries in balsamic syrup. So apart from all THAT, it’s JUST like the original!

The flavour is definitely unusual, but in a good way! It’s a dense cake – but as my initial attempt admirably demonstrated to me, you don’t WANT this cake to be too ‘cakey’. Were I to make it again, I would either increase the amount of cheese or maybe even go full-Parm! But then I like cheese. If you’re at all unsure, but still curious, then this version might be the best choice. A little sweet, a little savoury, a little sharp, a little salty – what’s not to like? :D

Hi! This is not a comment but a plea for help! Last year i treated my friends to Christmas cales and puds – they were great but as my frineds are single there was just a bit too much of both! So, they have requested both again this year but single helpings. I have been through all by cookery books – lots of great ideas but no clus how long to bake an individual cake or steam a half pint pud..Can anyone help?

Wotchers Maxine! My suggestion would be to bake/steam them in a proportion of the time for the larger recipe. Eg. If the recipe makes a 4lb cake that cooks in 4 hours, make 4 x 1lb cakes and test them after 1 hour. Just apply the same tests you would use for a larger cake, i.e. has it shrunk from the sides, has it stopped hissing and bubbling and when you stick a tester in it, does it come out clean? Hope this helps! M-A :D